North West at forefront as RICS leads on Government ‘green’ measures

RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is to lead on a series of issues to help establish the UK as a world leader in sustainable construction and refurbishment; and one of the first events will take place in the North West.

The organisation, which has 9,000 members in the region,  follows the Government’s positive response to the Low Carbon Construction Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) report. RICS is already heavily engaged in many of the areas highlighted in the report and is taking the initiative on key issues, such as establishing a method for measuring embodied carbon, investigating the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), developing the Ska rating tool for sustainable fit outs and working on the proposals for the Green Deal.

An example of the lead taken by RICS takes place in the North West next week when the organisation holds a breakfast seminar on the Green Deal at the Renaissance Manchester hotel (8.00am to 9.30am). This will look at how the Government initiative will be operated and the implications for chartered surveyors in the region. The Green Deal will help both homes and businesses properties become more energy efficient and save energy costs, via a loan to home to be paid back over 25 years, and is due to be introduced in Autumn 2012.

The issues that RICS will be driving through following the IGT report include:-

► Establishing a standard method of measuring embodied carbon, through RICS’s Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).

► Assessing the potential use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), in the construction and refurbishment process.

► Helping the Government carry out sustainable fit outs of its office stock using the Ska Rating tool.

► Collaborating with the Government on proposals for the Green Deal and organising a cross-industry seminar, aimed at achieving cross-sector partnerships.

RICS will continue to work closely with the Government and other industry bodies to drive this process forward, help reduce carbon emissions from the built environment and establish the UK as a world leader in sustainable construction.

Jennifer Welch, Operations Director at RICS North, commented:- “RICS welcomes the Government’s response to the IGT report into low carbon construction and is fully committed to meeting the challenges that are set out. We will be leading in the fields of embodied carbon, BIM, the Green Deal and the Ska Rating tool and will be working closely with the construction and property industries and the Government to deliver in these areas.”

North West chartered surveyor and RICS spokesperson Ian Potts added:- “Coordinated action across the construction industry will be essential if we are to meet the challenges presented by sustainability and the need to reduce carbon from the construction and refurbishment process. It is the responsibility of the construction and property industries and the Government to ensure that the process is driven forward, helping to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment.”

TJ Hughes files for administration

DISCOUNT department store chain TJ Hughes has filed an intention to appoint an administrator after a supplier threatened to file a winding up notice against the company.  Endless, the private equity firm that owns the business said the move was a precautionary measure to give the retailer more 'breathing space' but reports suggest it is very unlikely that administration will be avoided.  The Liverpool based retailer has 57 stores located throughout the country and employs over 4,000 people.  John Gorle, Usdaw National Officer said:- "This will be devastating news for our members but sadly it won't have come as a complete shock to most of them as they have been at the sharp end of the company's recent and urgent attempts to reduce costs.  The company has assured Usdaw that they will continue to pay staff as normal and that there are no immediate plans for any store closures or redundancies.  Usdaw firmly believe TJ Hughes still has a place on the high street and we will continue to work closely with the company and if necessary any administrators to safeguard jobs and to secure a sustainable long term future for the business."

Support Independent’s Day Urges FSB

THE Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) across Merseyside, West Cheshire & Wigan is fully supporting the ‘Independent’s Day’ campaign launched by Skillsmart Retail and the National Skills Academy for Retail.   The campaign calls for the public to buy at least one item from their local independent shops on July 4th to help keep the high street alive.  The FSB has been campaigning for more to be done to support the local high street through its ‘Keep Trade Local’ campaign and is urging the Government to take action on this through the Portas Review.

Neil Dutton, FSB Development Manager, said:- “As the high street continues to face some serious challenges from the effects of the recession, lower consumer spending, internet shopping and out of town shopping centres and supermarkets, much more must be done to help the local high street survive. As a first step the FSB in this region fully supports the Independent’s Day campaign and is urging the public to purchase at least one item from the local high street on 4 July 2011.  This will help raise the profile of the fantastic diversity the high streets in the region can offer and the crucial role they play in the local community.”

LIVERPOOL PRIDE FESTIVAL MOVES TO CITY’S ICONIC WATERFRONT

THE move comes after organisers agreed that the site was more financially viable in the current economic climate and also that it was better suited to this year’s ‘Summer of Love’ theme. Moving to the city’s waterfront will allow Liverpool Pride to deliver a festival which the city’s LGBT community deserve and can be proud of.

Tommy McIlravey Chair of Liverpool Pride said:- ‘We are delighted to be able to use the Pier Head for Liverpool Pride 2011. It is a wonderful space and part of the iconic waterfront of Liverpool that is recognisable throughout the world. Being there is a real symbol of how much Merseyside is behind the Liverpool Pride event. We have always strived to make lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people more visible and more valued, and this feels like the perfect place to do both.  Obviously, we were disappointed to have to move out of Dale Street and the gay quarter, but just about every charity at the moment, we have had to tighten our belts in order to survive. Closing such a huge area of the city centre is a difficult and expensive operation, so we had to look at a range of alternative spaces for Liverpool Pride, including some outside the city centre. None of the other options even came close to the Pier Head in terms of accessibility, grandeur and, dare I say, fabulousness! It is a nice big space to so there is room for tens of thousands of people to come and celebrate the Summer of Love with us on the 6 August 2011, please make sure you are one of them."

The route of the Liverpool Pride March has been finalised, with organisers certain that it will still start at St George’s Plateau at 12pm and process through the city’s streets, taking in Lime Street, Queen Square bus station and Whitechapel before turning into Lord Street and carrying on along Castle Street, turning left at the Town Hall and continuing down Water Street, crossing The Strand and arriving at the new festival site on the Waterfront at around 1.30pm. Organisations and individuals who wish to take part in the march are encouraged to sign up at:- liverpoolpride.co.uk/march.

Despite the main festival site, which was to be located on Dale Street, being moved to the Pier Head, there will still be some activity taking place in and around the Gay Quarter. All of the Gay Bars and venues including those on Stanley Street, Victoria Street and Cumberland Street will remain open throughout the day and night for revellers to enjoy and Gbar and Garlands are to join forces, producing a dance area that will be situated in close proximity to the Eberle Street venues.

The Liverpool Pride programming team is hard at work finalising the line up for this year’s festival, which will be announced in due course. The new Pier Head site is sure to be transformed into the perfect ‘hippie hangout’ with exciting live acts, side show performances, entertainment, music, market stalls, food outlets and bars, ensuring that Liverpool Pride 2011 is as much of a hit with the LGBT community as the inaugural 2010 event.

For more information, please visit:- liverpoolpride.co.uk.

Before 2010, Liverpool was the largest city in the country that didn’t have its own official pride festival. Liverpool Pride came about following the launch of the LGB&T Network in 2009, at which the public voted for a pride festival to engage, empower and involve the LGB&T communities within the city. This was fully endorsed by Liverpool City Council and the first official Liverpool Pride Festival saw over 21,000 people take to the streets of Liverpool in celebration of all things LGBT. It is hoped that Liverpool Pride 2011 will build on this success and will celebrate the diverse community of one of Europe’s leading cultural cities once more.